So, the “Man Flu” might really exist, which means bundle up this winter, boys

It’s a pretty common ~thing~ that women playfully complain about how the men in their lives can’t handle getting sick — it’s called the “man flu.” Women roll their eyes and say they have to take care of their husband because he’s sick, but really we all think that men are being dramatic and exaggerating their symptoms. A new article in the British Medical Journal claims that the “man flu” is a thing and that men might actually be suffering from a worse flu than a woman might get.

“I do think that the research does point towards men having a weaker immune response when it comes to common viral respiratory infections and the flu,” Dr. Kyle Sue, a clinical assistant professor in family medicine from the Memorial University of Newfoundland, told The Guardian. “This is shown in the fact that they [have] worse symptoms, they last longer, they are more likely to be hospitalised and more likely to die from it.”

The article quoted studies that proved that men in Hong Kong were hospitalized for flu symptons at a higher rate than women, and that from 1997 to 2007 men in the U.S. had higher rates of influenza-related deaths than women in the same age groups.

He also quoted studies on mice that suggested that testosterone could weaken the immune response to the flu, while certain female hormones increase the immune system’s reaction to it.

But then Sue concluded the medical study with this one line that has us wondering if the entire thing was a joke?

“Perhaps now is the time for male-friendly spaces, equipped with enormous televisions and reclining chairs, to be set up where men can recover from the debilitating effects of man flu in safety and comfort, Sue suggested.

Uhm, what? That’s a joke, right? Or is he serious? Until then, everyone go get your flu shot.